Each one of us has a role to play in recognizing and responding to discrimination and harassment at work. Many people face different forms of discrimination at work based on their race, gender, religion and other traits. As immigrants, we come from various countries where a particular group, culture or religion is more dominant or considered the norm. Thus it can be a transition for some to understand the complexity behind Canada’s workplace anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policy developed by the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
Protected Identities
All workplaces in Canada must have anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies and procedures to foster a harassment-free workplace where all employees are treated with respect and dignity. The Canadian Human Rights Act protects employees from harassment based on:
- Family status
- Religion
- Age
- Pregnancy
- Disability
- Sex and gender identity
- Mental illness or medical condition
- National or ethnic origin
- Race and colour
Intersectionality was coined by Professor Kimberle’ Crenshaw 30 years ago. Intersectionality illustrates how people’s identities overlap with race, age, gender, sexual orientation, and others. Intersecting marginalized identities can lead to various forms of discrimination and harassment.
Negative impacts of discrimination and harassment
The most challenging element about discrimination and harassment is recognizing them when they are subtle. Subtle forms of discrimination and harassment are also known as microaggressions. Which over a prolonged period can be devastating to the recipients. Microaggressions can be intentional or unintentional words or actions that negatively reference someone based on their identity.
Research shows that harassment and discrimination negatively impact a person’s mental and physical health. This leads to reduced productivity and increased workplace accidents. Companies with unsafe workplace cultures have low morale and high rates of employee turnover.
Unhealthy workplace cultures persist because of the bystander effect. The bystander effect happens because everyone witnessing the incident is expecting someone else to step in, so no one steps in. The bystander effect is worsened in larger companies where people feel even less responsible due to the sheer number of people around them. We can prevent the bystander effect by creating a workplace culture that encourages people to avoid the bystander effect.
Foster a safe and inclusive workplace culture
Lead from compassion
If you hold a leadership role, set a good example for your team. Leaders have the advantage of interviewing with minimum fear of retaliation. Empathize with colleagues who may have backgrounds that are different from the country and make them more vulnerable to discrimination or harassment.
Separate the person from their actions
It is difficult to stand up to a harasser when you have a close relationship with and respect for the person. So it’s important to remember that the intent is to create a safe and inclusive workplace culture for people who are more at risk. View and speak to the act of harassment or discrimination and the effect that it has on the person and overall workplace environment. Speak to the act, explain the impact of their words or actions, and approach it as a teaching moment.
Become an active bystander
Take action whenever you see an incident of discrimination and harassment. The 3 A’s of being an active bystander is:
- Awareness of the environment around you
- An attitude that is protective of the workplace
- Having the confidence to take action
Everyone in the workplace has a role to play. It is essential to encourage people who support anti-discrimination and anti-harassment, dedicate the time needed to create a healthy workplace culture, and actively listen to other people. Awareness, Attitude and Action are vital in making a positive change to the workplace culture.
Develop a sense of awareness
When people face discrimination based on characteristics that they cannot control, such as their gender, race, age or other aspects, it is harmful and can be unlawful. An essential step to building an ethical workplace culture is to have a keen sense of awareness. The awareness will allow you to recognize when discrimination occurs and intervene quickly.
A good workplace culture:
- Celebrates diversity where people from various backgrounds and identifies feel represented and accepted in the workplace.
- Ensures every single person is treated with respect and dignity.
- Promotes professionalism and fairness, even when there is a healthy conflict.
- Values and sees people’s differences as assets that add to workplace culture.
- Encourages strong relationships among colleagues
- Provides the tools and education needed to recognize and stand up against discrimination
Understand implicit bias
Implicit biases are the beliefs that we subconsciously hold and can be either positive or negative and extremely damaging. Our family, friends, media and previous experiences have shaped the ideas we hold about certain people and individual identifies. This comes across in how we act and the things we say and believe without questioning. The key to overcoming implicit bias is admitting that we all have them and uncovering and challenging them once they are revealed.
Understand the spectrum of discrimination
Acts of discrimination can be overt, small, backhanded comments and even criminal forms. When there is a power dynamic, leaders can often use their role to discriminate against their employees, prevent their promotions, and get them fired. Pay attention to your work colleagues, to the jokes and negative behaviour you might be unintentionally allowing. Avoid using stereotypes based on people’s characteristics, and openly pointing out people’s differences.
The simple act of acknowledging unfairness and injustice goes a long way to foster the right work environment. The ability to identify discriminatory behaviour depends a lot on education. It is essential to understand the various marginalized identities and recognize subtle forms of discrimination through words and actions.
Promote an attitude of acceptance
Build strong relationships
It is crucial to have open communication and build connections with your colleagues. People are more likely to stand up for people that they know, like, trust and respect. Gaining respect for your colleagues does not happen overnight. Create opportunities to truly get to know your colleagues, their backgrounds and motivations.
There are various team-building exercises to complete whenever there is a new team member. Companies that engage in orientation when onboarding new employees can set the tone from the beginning. If your company does not currently include team-building or diversity and inclusion as part of their onboarding process, encourage them to do so. A good practice to be in is to be an active listener. Active listeners pay attention when people speak, repeat their points back to them and ask clarifying questions. Make it a point to celebrate each other’s strengths and recognize each other’s valuable contributions. Celebrating strengths creates mutual trust and respect and dismantles negative stereotypes of each other.
Encourage Inclusivity and Access
Train yourself to speak and act inclusively. It takes daily practice, and it is okay if you do not get it right away. It has taken me months to avoid the phrase “Hey guys” and eliminate gendered language when addressing a group of people. Use phrases such as “Hey everyone” instead of “Hey guys” and “they” instead of “He or she.” Keep your conversations and actions balanced and be conscious of differences in power dynamics in the room. Remember that not everyone is able-bodied and heterosexual, so avoid making assumptions about people’s spouses. Make sure your work environment, tools and presentations are accessible. Some examples range from having wheelchair access and using large fonts during presentations.
The tools to take action
Follow policy to encourage equity.
Having the right policies in place ensures that everyone is treated fairly. During interviews and job screenings, companies that have hiring policies can avoid discrimination. If you are a part of the hiring process, always follow the procedures and encourage others to do so. Know your anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies to ensure that you are guided by them and can recognize unwanted behaviour.
Maintain privacy and confidentiality
Whenever you witness or are informed of an ongoing incident or investigation, avoid speculation or gossiping. Gossiping and spreading rumours makes everything worse and creates an even more destructive workplace culture. Avoid interfering with current events and investigations until they have completed.
Speak up powerfully
Learn to speak up for yourself before speaking up for someone else. Stay professional and avoid addressing the person and focus on the action. “The action or words (be sure to state the actions and the words) offended me.” If you are not comfortable with speaking up, you can also rely on non-verbal cues to express your displeasure. If someone makes an offensive joke about someone, choosing not to laugh can send an even stronger message to your colleagues. You can also choose not to react at the moment and speak to the offender or the offended person privately if you need to clarify what occurred or what was said.
Report when necessary
There is so much you can do to intervene, and it’s important to recognize when to get resource professionals involved. You can either report to a colleague or leader that you trust to support your complaint or intervene. Report gross misconduct to your human resource professionals and involve security if someone’s life is endangered or threatened. If you are reporting on behalf of someone else, be sure you have their consent and ask them to accompany you to make the official report. If you are reporting an incident of discrimination, you can offer to be a witness, if you witnessed the incident and feel comfortable supporting your colleague.
Armed with the knowledge to identify harassment and discrimination and the tools to address problematic situations, you can play your part in creating a workplace culture. The foundation for preventing harassment and discrimination is awareness.
Due to the pandemic, most people are working from home. As stay-at-home orders are eased through reopening phases, now is a great time to rebuild a healthy workplace culture as more companies ramp up.